I first saw the video of Randy Pausch giving his now famous "last lecture" shortly after it hit the internet. It came in an email, the type you normally delete, with little midi files playing crappy music and hearts bouncing on rainbows. There may or may not have been puppies. I'm sure that I was instructed to forward it to everyone that I love or some such thing. They all blur together, these dreaded "FWD" emails that stalk my inbox.
For some reason I watched the video that day and I may or may not have forwarded it to everyone that I love. I honestly don't remember. I do, however, recall the power of the video and the words of Randy Pausch, and if I think real hard I might even remember a tear or two, although it can never be proven.
I told the staff that I was going to write about Randy Pausch for FameCrawler and I only received one reply: who?
Granted, Randy Pausch hasn't made millions of dollars in the world of entertainment. He hasn't slept with Hollywood starlets, as far as I know. He hasn't been in rehab or sold pictures of his children to Ok! Magazine. He has been on Oprah, and no, he didn't jump on the couch. He is a celebrity, albeit a reluctant one, in the most positive sense of the word, and that is enough to justify his presence here.
His video, which was filmed as part of a series at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University where he taught computer science, has been viewed an estimated 6 million times. He was the subject of an hour long special with Diane Sawyer on Wednesday night and just had a book released this week. All of which deal with one thing, and in doing so expanding on many: life.
Randy Pausch is a father. He and his wife Jai have three children, Dylan, 6, Logan, 3, and Chloe, who is almost 2.
Randy Pausch is dying. He has terminal cancer. His time is limited.
His "last lecture" is about living life and chasing your childhood dreams. It was given to roughly 400 people in an auditorium in Pittsburgh. It has been seen by so many more and continues to touch and help people daily, yet Pausch makes one thing clear, while grateful and humbled by the attention, it is for his children that his words are intended.
The book is available now. The video is included below. Forward it to everyone that you love.
Photo/Source: AP
Please visit Randy Pausch's website
